Please talk to me about water softeners!

[rosinavera]

I live in a very hard water area and I'm just sooooooo fed up of cleaning the limescale off my taps, shower, shower-screen etc!! I actually have to have a new pop up plug for my wash-hand basin because it has corroded away!! How do I go about this please because I have nooooo idea. Do I approach a plumber or a company that manufactures them? And can you give me an idea of the cost please? I'm desperate!!!!!

We got ours fitted by a local guy who specialises in fitting them. I think we found him on Which Trusted Traders, but do a quick google search of your local area and I'm sure you'll find a similar company. We live in a very hard water area like you do, and there was quite a few companies that had sprung up because of local demand. They do a site survey first (just to work out where to locate it, usually under your kitchen sink), and then the actual fitting of the water softener only takes a hour or two. I think we paid about £400-500. When we moved house we called the company and they took the water softener out and fitted it in the new house. You also need to put salt blocks in once a month which cost about £5.

Thank you so much @Wildwood6 - so the company actually fitted it?

Hi there, I'm in Ireland but we have one too. A company fits it where your water comes into the house from the mains, usually under the kitchen sink. No need for a plumber, the person who comes out will do everything. We had a small tap fitted on the sink for unsoftened water as it's not good for babies or the elderly.
It treats the water all over the house then and makes your appliances last so much longer and no more descaling!

@rosinavera the company that fitted it wasn't the company that made it; they bought in the units from a supplier and did all the fitting for you. This seemed to be the set up with all of the companies that we contacted when we initially got quotes, a bit like getting a heating engineer to supply and fit a new boiler.